KEEPING A LIGHT ON: Wireless broadband company LightSquared may be under scrutiny, but the company isn’t pulling up its stakes on K Street. In fact, the startup is expanding its downtown reach, adding three shops this month alone — Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, K&L Gates, and Podesta Group. The trio comes on board after LightSquared beefed up its contract shops by five earlier this year. Nethercutt Consulting, American Continental Group, Ballard Spahr, Gephardt Group Government Affairs and Dickstein Shapiro have all been hired in 2011.

LightSquared spent $830,000 during the first half of 2011 on lobbying, more than the amount it spent all last year. The company reported spending $695,000 on lobbying in 2010.

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While LightSquared’s Terry Neal punted on discussing the company’s K Street strategy, he did elaborate on the company’s message on Capitol Hill.

The money quotes: “We hope to have a fair and objective hearing of our plan, which can co-exist with other technologies and will create 15,000 jobs a year over the five-year network build out of our plan,” Neal tells PI. “LightSquared is better positioned than any other company to accomplish the goal of quickly increasing competition in the market, lowering consumer prices and expanding access to a critical technology.”

Best quote: “You can’t have it both ways,” said one in-house financial services lobbyist. “It just makes it harder for people who are Democrats in New York, Boston, Chicago to on the one hand be [demogogued] and then be asked ‘Hey, you can get your picture with the president for $30,000.’ It doesn’t square.”

PI SCOOPLET … IBM HIRES VETERAN LOBBYISTS:Michael DiPaula-Coyle is heading to the tech giant. DiPaula-Coyle, whose title will be senior governmental programs executive, will work on global trade and investment issues. DiPaula-Coyle most recently worked for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council and has previously served as chief of staff for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, as well as special assistant and policy adviser at the Bureau of Industry and Security. This comes after PI first reported that Alex Manning, a former legislative director for Michael McCaul (R-Texas), will work as a governmental programs executive, focusing on relations with the House and Senate.

The new hires bring a “wealth of experience that will be an enormous asset to our work with local, state and federal governments,” Christopher Padilla, IBM vice president of governmental programs, told PI in a statement. “Their expertise will add great value as we continue to work on issues such as trade, cybersecurity and tax reform.”

CANTOR HAULS IN $$: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor raised big money in September, pulling in more than $280,000. The must-read section of Jake and Anna’s story: Employees of Altria Group, the parent company of Phillip Morris, provided a boost to the Virginia Republican’s leadership PAC in the way of $29,500. K-Streeters who ponied up include: tax lobbyists Lindsay Hooper of Capitol Tax Partners, who contributed $1,000, and former Rep. Jim McCrery (R-La.) and Denise Henry of Capitol Counsel, who both contributed $2,500.

HAPPY TUESDAY afternoon! PI hopes you are enjoying the beautiful fall weather and aren’t spending too much time tallying up billable hours and client contracts with the approaching third quarter lobbying filing deadline. Please continue sending us hot gossip, tips and all the rest to apalmer@politico.com and dlevinthal@politico.com. If you don’t already, follow us at @davelevinthal and @apalmerdc.

Now, back to the day’s influence news.

BUSH ALUMNI PASS THE DANISH: Mum was the word following a cabal of Bush administration alumni meeting with former Vice President Dick Cheney this morning. Got any tidbits? Send them along.

SUPERCOMMITTEE MEMBERS RAISE $: PI colleague Abby Phillip has the story on supercommittee members raising political contributions but not necessarily at the rate one would expect. Read here for the full story: http://politi.co/nFSURa

BIG WEEK FOR JM BURKMAN, PODESTA: It’s only Tuesday, but it’s already been a good week for JM Burkman & Associates. The firm snagged six new clients this week — bringing on Global Carbon Group, Gulf Marine Institute, Medical Care Corp., Sphere, Studio K2 and Three G Companies. Podesta Group is also having a strong start the week, bringing on the American Museum of Natural History, GE Aviation, LightSquared and URS Corp.

GETTING A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS: Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) won’t have to rely on his slot on the appropriations panel to draw a crowd for his reception and dinner Dec. 8 at Bistro Bis. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is adding some GOP star power as the special guest for the $2,500 for PACs and $1,000 for individuals dinner party tab.

K STREET SUFFERS FROM TWITTER JITTERS: There are no smoke-filled back rooms in cyberspace — or even a spot for a simple hallway conversation. And while just about every politico in the nation’s capital now amplifies message and mantra through social media, professional lobbying firms, which have long ranked among D.C.’s most social and media-savvy power brokers, have largely opted out. Read Dave’s full story here: http://politi.co/qPvZP9

A coda to the piece: Facebook, which through June 30 has spent $550,000 lobbying the federal government, according to federal records, has this year employed three lobbying firms: Elmendorf Strategies; Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock; and Telemedia Policy Corp. Twitter has not yet hired a registered lobbyist in D.C., but in recent months, it’s been increasing its presence in the nation’s capital.

An anarchist, a “slave” to the Federal Reserve and a self-proclaimed “liberty ruckus kicker” helped fill Ron Paul’s campaign coffers in the third quarter. The libertarian presidential candidate on Saturday reported raising $8.2 million between July and September, thanks in part to an army of loyal supporters shelling out small donations. His roster of donors is dotted with some in eclectic occupations.

Norman Merkel, a self-proclaimed anarchist from Scottsdale, Ariz., donated $200 to the Texas congressman in the third quarter. Calvin Overley Dennison of Austin, Texas — who listed his occupation as “Patriot” and his employer as “Your Mom” — gave $1,000. Paul has also received money from donors who self-identified as a “ninja” at Google, a self-employed “liberty practitioner,” a lion tamer with the Ringling Bros. Circus, a “Budtender” at Shambhala Healing Center and one self-employed “lobster.”

PE GROUP GETS FACELIFT: The National Association of Small Business Investment Companies is no more. The group is expanding its mission and membership going forward as the Small Business Investor Alliance. The alliance is looking to partner middle market PE fund managers and limited partners in order to strengthen their lobbying on the Hill, networking opportunities and other issues. Brett Palmer is serving as president of the Alliance.

Founding members include: TD Bank, Valesco Industries, Wells Fargo Bank, Chatham Capital and Merion Investment Partners, among others. NASBIC has spent $262,500 on lobbying during the first nine months of 2011. The Advocacy Group’s Robert Dotchin is the sole contract lobbyist on retainer for the trade group.

“The needs of our members have changed considerably over the years, so we have listened and responded,” Palmer said of the transition. “To enable us to grow and more effectively represent our members’ interests, we are expanding our mission to welcome as members other private equity funds investing in small businesses, as well as limited partners who invest in these funds.”

GENE TAYLOR RECORD WOES CONTINUE: Former Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), who lost a reelection last year after more than two decades in office, continues to spar with the Federal Election Commission over what his campaign committee says are finance records destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. As it appears Taylor’s campaign treasurer, Carroll Gordon, is about ready to give up.

“I tried to hire someone and resign when I had [a] stroke and found no one that would or could,” Gordon wrote the FEC this week regarding his plight in recovering missing campaign finance documents. “After the election it became a moot point. Those who come back are trying clean up the property and to rebuild. … I have done what I can which does not seem to calm the seas. I am now immersed in my own health problems and those of my immediate family; twelve months is enough. I have entered corrections as I amended reports when possible and entered cash adjustments with explanation for the ancient files.”

NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FILINGS: None.

RECENT REGISTRATIONS: (Firm: Client)

Adams and Reese: Jefferson County Assisted Housing Corp.

Alston & Bird: Healthways

Becker & Poliakoff: Florida Memorial University

Ben Barnes Group: Encore Bank

Ben Barnes Group: Galveston Center for Transportation and Commerce

Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies: CMA CGM America

Gephardt Group Government Affairs: O'Neill and Associates (on behalf of Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority)

Green Capitol: Agriculture Energy Coalition

Hurt, Norton & Associates:Intelsat General Corp.

Internet Poker Solutions: Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians

J M Burkman & Associates: Global Carbon Group

J M Burkman & Associates: Gulf Marine Institute

J M Burkman & Associates: Medical Care Corporation

J M Burkman & Associates: Sphere

J M Burkman & Associates: Studio K2

J M Burkman & Associates: Three G Companies

Khalil Saliba: National Association of Truck Stop Operators

Khalil Saliba: Profit Per Employee Coalition|

Mercury (formerly known as International Government Relations Group): Heninger Garrison Davis,

Podesta Group: American Museum of Natural History

Podesta Group: GE Aviation

Podesta Group: LightSquared

Podesta Group: URS Corp.

Rathner and Associates: Knife Rights Inc.

Roberti White: Republic of Serbia

The CONSILIO Group: Autosense International

Washington Strategic Consulting: Hudson Valley Hospital Center

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Authors:

About The Author

Anna Palmer is a senior Washington correspondent for POLITICO and co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics.

Anna covers the world of Congress and politics, and has successfully chronicled the business of Washington insiders for years. Her stories take readers behind the scenes for the biggest fights in Washington as well as the 2016 election.

Prior to becoming POLITICO’s senior Washington correspondent, Anna was the co-author of the daily newsletter, POLITICO Influence, considered a must-read on K Street.

Anna previously covered House leadership and lobbying as a staff writer for Roll Call. She got her start in Washington journalism as a lobbying business reporter for the industry newsletter Influence. She has also worked at Legal Times, where she covered the intersection of money and politics for the legal and lobbying industry, first as a staff writer and then as an editor.

A native of North Dakota, Anna is a graduate of St. Olaf College, where she was executive editor of the weekly campus newspaper, the Manitou Messenger. She lives in Washington, D.C.

About The Author

Dave Levinthal reports on political influence issues for POLITICO. Before joining POLITICO, Dave worked for two years as editor of OpenSecrets.org at the Center for Responsive Politics, where he oversaw the Center's original journalism and provided analysis to hundreds of television, radio and print news outlets.

Between 2003 and 2009, Dave reported on Dallas City Hall for The Dallas Morning News, and from 2000 to 2002, covered the New Hampshire Statehouse for the Lawrence (Mass.) Eagle-Tribune. He graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in newspaper journalism and political philosophy and edited The Daily Orange.

Some may argue, but there is no more dedicated Bills fan than this Buffalo, N.Y., native.